1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to lane dividers for roadways and more specifically, to an apparatus and method for laterally translocating lane dividers from one position on a roadway to another. The apparatus and method may be used for adjusting the position of the lane dividers on the roadway or may be used for moving the lane dividers from one lane to another lane on the roadway.
2. Background of the Invention
Lane dividers are presently utilized in a number of roadway applications. Most commonly, lane dividers are utilized in road construction and alter the number of lanes extending to and from urban areas on a multiple lane highway depending on the time of day and anticipated traffic flow.
For example, in a six-lane roadway, four lanes will be utilized to transport traffic into an urban area during morning hours. The other two lanes will be utilized to transport traffic out of the urban area. During the evening hours, four lanes will be used to transport traffic out of the urban area and two lanes will be used to transport traffic into the urban location. Accordingly, the lane dividers had to be moved for the morning traffic and had to be moved for the evening traffic.
A first type of lane divider is heavyweight and cumbersome for acting as a barrier. These heavyweight and cumbersome barriers provided impact resistance in the event that a driver inadvertently steers a vehicle into a lane of oncoming traffic.
A second type of lane divider is a more lightweight lane divider and is commonly used in situations where traffic moves at a slower rate such as a construction zone or a low speed roadway. Initially, the lightweight lane dividers were moved manually by a crew of workmen as often as twice a day. Subsequently, a number of vehicles have been developed to laterally transport the lightweight lane dividers from one lane to another. Many of these vehicles for laterally transporting the lightweight lane dividers from one lane to another are awkward to use and are extremely wide. Many of these vehicles for laterally transporting the lightweight lane dividers from one lane to another occupied a substantial portion of an oncoming lane during the operation of the vehicle.
Many of the vehicles for laterally transporting the lightweight lane dividers from one lane to another have certain problems associated with an uneven lateral transfer. Frequently, the lightweight lane dividers laterally transported by the vehicles are not exactly discharged to be parallel to the initial position of the lightweight lane divider location. In many instances, the vehicles discharged the lightweight lane divider in a slightly curved manner. When the slightly curved lightweight lane dividers in a slightly curved position were transferred multiple times, the curvature was amplified by the multiple transfer by the vehicle. The magnified curvature of the inappropriately placed lightweight lane divider became a driving hazard and had to be manually moved to a correct alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,200 discloses a barrier for placement intermediate to two adjacent highway lanes and an apparatus for transferring the barrier from a location intermediate two lanes to a location intermediate two other lanes so as to accommodate differing traffic flow patterns for different times of day and different traffic conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,225 discloses a roadway lane divider comprised of a plurality of interconnected divider sections each having a T-shaped upper end. Rollers of a mobile transfer apparatus are adapted for engagement under a pair of longitudinally extending undercut bearing surfaces, defined on the upper end of each divider section, to lift and suspend the divider sections as a unit on a first side of the apparatus, move them serpentine-like across the apparatus and deposit the divider sections on a second, opposite side of the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,601 discloses transferable roadway lane dividers which consist of individual sections hingedly joined together. The lane dividers are picked up from one side of the lane by a transfer device mounted beneath a vehicle or trailer, traveling along the center of the lane, and are slid along the transfer device and are continuously deposited on the roadway at the desired new position on the other side of the lane.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,954 discloses an apparatus for moving laterally a traffic control barrier having a plurality of pivotally linked sections. The transfer vehicle includes means for picking up the sections on one side and depositing them on the other side as it moves along the roadway. The vehicle has front and rear guide drums around which the sections are moved through the vehicle in an S-shaped path and there are means for varying the space between the axes of the guide drums to compensate for disparity in lengths of the lane dividers around a curved roadway.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,753 teaches a roadway barrier system which provides a safe separation between opposing lanes of vehicular traffic and is capable of being moved across a lane to change the direction of traffic flow in the lane. A plurality of barrier sections are positioned end-to-end along one side of the lane, and a vehicle which travels along the lane has a transfer beam in the form of a figure-8 with a portion of the beam extending diagonally across the lane for transferring the barrier sections from one side of the lane to the other as the vehicle travels along the lane. Hinged connections between the barrier sections permit the sections to be positioned different distances apart and at different angles relative to each other, and striations on the side faces of the barrier sections help to prevent vehicles which contact the barrier sections from climbing over the barrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,704 discloses a roadway barrier system which provides a safe separation between opposing lanes of vehicular traffic and in some embodiments is capable of being moved across a lane to change the direction of traffic flow in the lane. In one disclosed embodiment, side plates bridge the gaps between the ends of adjacent barrier sections and provide a continuous surface along the sides of the sections. In some embodiments, striation panels help dissipate the energy of vehicles which contact the barrier and to assist in preventing such vehicles from bouncing off or climbing over the barrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,305 provides a mobile transfer and transport vehicle adapted to move a barrier system, having a plurality of interconnected and closely spaced modules, on a roadway or the like. The vehicle includes a conveyor having series of guide and support rollers for engaging, supporting, lifting and transferring the barrier system from a first side of said vehicle to a second side thereof. At least some of the rollers are spring-biased into engagement with the modules when they move through curved portions of a serpentine-like transfer path through the conveyor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,951 discloses a mobile transfer and transport vehicle adapted to move a barrier system, having a plurality of pivotally interconnected and closely spaced modules, on a roadway or the like. The vehicle includes a conveyor having series of guide and support rollers for engaging, supporting, lifting and transferring the barrier system from a first side of the vehicle to a second side thereof. A drive system is mounted on the conveyor for frictionally engaging the modules to either pull or retard movement of the modules through the conveyor. The drive system aids in maintaining proper spacing between the modules, particularly when they are moved on a curved roadway.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,071 discloses a method of transferring a plurality of road elements. The method includes the steps of arranging a plurality of roller units on each of the road elements substantially centrally of each road element, pivotally connecting end portions of the adjacent road elements with one another, engaging the roller units of the road elements by a guiding element having a channel shape and two ends spaced from one another in a longitudinal direction and in a transverse direction, so that the roller units guidingly move inside the guiding element along the guiding element from one of the ends to the other of the ends and at the same time slightly pivot relative to one another, so that the road elements are transferred from a location at one end of the guiding element to the location at the other end of the guiding element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,572 provides successive road elements of a road barrier. A partition or the like are turnable relative to one another by means of hinge elements connected to their facing walls. They can be transferred by a device having a substantially C-shaped hollow guiding element with opposite ends spaced from one another in a transverse direction, and a plurality of carts each having a substantially vertical shaft articulately connected with two successive road elements in the area of the two successive road elements, so that when the guiding element is longitudinally displaced, the carts are displaced inside the guiding element without engagement of the road elements with the guiding element, and the carts with the successive road elements are transferred from the area of one end to the area of the other end of the guiding element transversely.
Although the aforementioned vehicles have contributed to the lane divider art, none of the above-mentioned devices solve the problems discussed above which are presently faced in lateral displacement of roadway lane dividers.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for laterally translocating a lane divider from an initial position to final position on a roadway that accurately laterally translocates a lane divider from the initial position to the final position on the roadway.
Another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for laterally translocating a lane divider from an initial position to final position on a roadway that automatically translocates the lane divider without the use of excessive and costly manual labor.
Another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for laterally translocating a lane divider from an initial position to final position on a roadway without occupying an oncoming lane during the operation of the vehicle.
Another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for laterally translocating a lane divider from an initial position to final position on a roadway wherein the final position is parallel to the initial position.
Another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for laterally translocating a lane divider from an initial position to final position on a roadway wherein the final position is displaced at least one lane relative to the initial position on the roadway.
Another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for laterally translocating a lane divider from an initial position to final position on a roadway wherein the final position is aligned in the same lane as the initial position on the roadway.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention with in the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.